I am a visual learner, meaning also that my mind sometimes wanders during verbal activities. Especially if something catches my eye or attention. I think about this occasionally in the context of my own aging. Age-related macular degeneration lies heavily in my gene pool: I walked with my mom in her final years, a decade … Continue reading Of wallpaper and memories
grief
Dear Mom, it’s Christmas and I miss you
Dear Mom, it's Christmas and I miss you. I've missed you every day since you died; how can it have been nine months? I miss you as I visit parks, so many places you and I journeyed together - later you using sticks, walker and wheelchair. I miss you when I cook certain foods, listen … Continue reading Dear Mom, it’s Christmas and I miss you
Paddling, mournfully I muse
I went for a paddle this morning. Knowing it to be one of the last warmer fall mornings. Relaxing a bit, knowing I couldn’t get in the water as early as I do in the summer with daylight lapsing, yet still one of the only boats on the water. Not being much of a cold … Continue reading Paddling, mournfully I muse
It must be said
I woke up this morning knowing I must write about this. Usually I feel the rush of words dictating my next blog at other times: during a walk, as I cycle to work, even while reading a book. Not this time. This is tough to write, a topic some may say best for intimate conversations. … Continue reading It must be said
The anniversary emotional rollercoaster
So many different anniversaries we note in these human lives we lead. We anticipate them, celebrate some and mourn others. We memorialize significant historical and celebratory events, the bad and good: D.Day, 9/11, the first pandemic lock down, the 1977 Blazer NBA win, February 14, 1859 Statehood. Some anniversaries remind us of accomplishments: we reminisce … Continue reading The anniversary emotional rollercoaster
A gift for Father’s Day
I haven’t before pitched My Music Man as a Father’s Day story, a gift to give a father or someone who’s missing a father or loves their own father. And yet, readers have told me my memoir is just that. Not that your father was like my father or that your relationship was like mine, … Continue reading A gift for Father’s Day
Pedaling between headstones
It's not like I woke up thinking yesterday would be the day to hang out in a cemetery. I did plan to take the day off, overwhelmed by stress related to work these past few weeks. A good day to take a hike, work in the yard, or take a bike ride. I miss commuting … Continue reading Pedaling between headstones
The books that inspire us
Me, Ocean Park, WA, 1972. As I finished the final draft of my memoir, I spent some of my free time reading other memoirs, a genre I had always been drawn to. As I worked through my own story, my grief, purposefully cutting out stories that I liked but that ultimately had little to do … Continue reading The books that inspire us
Just do it
Now, I bet you thought this would be about getting vaccinated. Not exactly. Okay, kind of. The other day I looked up a condition I heard referenced earlier in the week on OPB, distracted in that moment of airtime but its message loitering in my brain. For later. Something my brain best remembered as a … Continue reading Just do it
Sorrow, renewal and little altars
Earlier this week my friend asked me if she could share something she had been wanting to mention, but wasn't sure I was ready to hear. Yes, I replied. I'm game. I'm good. She reminded me that as part of the loss I have experienced recently, I have lost being anyone's daughter. Anyone on earth, … Continue reading Sorrow, renewal and little altars
Dede's Books and blog 